“Inside the Luxurious Aman New York: The World’s Most Expensive Hotel”

Un iconic building at the corner of the V^e Avenue and 57^e Rue, 83 suites from 70 to 258 square meters – in other words the most spacious rooms in the Big Apple –, 650 square meters of terrace-garden accessible all year round thanks to a retractable glass roof, an indoor swimming pool of 20 meters length bordered by large bay windows, a spa with ten treatment cabins and a team of 500 people at the peak of operation, i.e. a ratio of three employees for one client…

Since its opening, in August 2022, within the Crown Building, an emblem of Beaux-Arts architecture built in 1921, the Aman New York hotel has accumulated superlatives… And suffered scratches. “Too expensive”, “too dark”, “too exclusive”, “cut off from the rest” – understand “cut off from the city” – we could hear.

Intimacy, tranquility, design. No doubt, staying at the Aman New York is a privilege – and that’s an understatement – ​​prices start at 3,200 dollars (around 3,000 euros) per night… Joining your club – the first of its kind within the group – is not cheap either: count 200,000 dollars as entrance fees, to which is added a contribution of 15,000 dollars per year. In exchange for this, the members of this very private circle (there are already 450 of them) have access to all the other Aman clubs (under development), to exclusivities in the field of wine, gastronomy, art and well-being, as well as all the common areas of the hotel, in addition to a cigar smoking room and several lounges with a fully dedicated bar and terrace. A culture of inter-self that annoys some. Not New Yorkers, particularly inclined to this way of life which is spreading all over the Big Apple.

Another point of overheating among the hotel’s detractors: the lack of natural light, right from the entrance. Designed as a decompression chamber between the effervescence of Manhattan and the arrival in the lobby a few levels above, it does not have one, but boasts a first fireplace (there are about a hundred of them throughout the building). hotel) and a selection of works of art. As if to better prepare the visitor to dive into the DNA of the brand, “centered on intimacy, tranquility, unparalleled service, excellent design and an exceptional setting”, likes to remind Vlad Doronin, its owner since 2014, who invested “1.4 billion dollars in the acquisition and renovation of the building” and got involved in every detail.

Praise of sobriety. An elevator and here we are at 14^e stage. Past the lobby, also devoid of openings to the outside, but animated by soft and warm lighting, make way for the two restaurants, the double-height lounge bar and the vast green terrace staged with a lot of jets of water. water, braziers and claustras-moucharabiehs seeming to come down from the sky. Back to light. Here again, no “wow!” effect. », as many were expecting, but a very sober decoration, as much in the volumes and colors as in the materials, dominated by wood, stone and fabric. With here and there nods to the architecture of the Crown Building – including its golden pinnacle – and to the Asian roots of the brand, such as this magnificent fresco by Japanese artist Hasegawa Tohaku (16^e) printed on rice paper and adorning the walls of the suites. “We are not here in juxtaposition, but in a composition, a coherent whole, deciphers the interior designer Jean-Michel Gathy, who signs here his tenth collaboration with the brand. All the Amans follow the same rules: everything goes together, nothing goes against each other. The chic is precisely that there is nothing “iconic”, ostentatious. All things that we perceive are emotionally intangible. We don’t know why, but we think we’re fine there. » And Vlad Doronin to add: “We have transposed the “horizontal experience” of our hotels to the vertical. When you are at the Aman New York, you are in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world, and yet you have the impression of being in complete serenity. We have created an urban sanctuary. » Where immersion is shared between a successful culinary offer (through two restaurants, Italian and Japanese), a rooftop both open and protected from the city, a cutting-edge spa combining Asian expertise and cutting-edge technologies, works of art punctuating the spaces, exclusive experiences such as meeting listed artists in their workshops, or even a jazz club tending to revive swing in a city that has turned a bit apathetic since the pandemic.

One thing is certain, Aman certainly believes in its “vertical” concept: after Tokyo in 2014 and New York this year, new openings have already been announced in Bangkok (2024), Miami (2026) and Beverly Hills (2026). ). And to see the enthusiasm aroused, starting with the Amanjunkies, a club of self-proclaimed aficionados (customers or not), this diversification seems to have far exceeded the first round of criticism.§

aman.com. 3 nights in a 5th Avenue Junior Suite, from €8,850/pers., breakfasts and flights on La Compagnie included, exclusifvoyages.com

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